McCann UK: Aldi thwarts gaming at mealtimes

March 13, 2019

Beyond brilliant campaign ideas are fiendishly brilliant campaign ideas – those that insist on behaviour change rather than coax it. McCann UK’s Teatime Takedown for Aldi is a fiendishly brilliant campaign idea. It makes sure that kids leave their online game and come to the dinner table by ending the game – in the most frustrating way possible. The campaign has enlisted a squad of professional gamers to enter a child’s game and “take them down”. Kids lose the game, get furious and quit.

According to Aldi’s study, 38% of British children won’t come to the dinner table. 25% of UK parents say this is due to online gaming. 15% of the parents in the study regularly give in and let their kids eat elsewhere to prevent an argument and 11% will anything to avoid confrontation at the end of a long day.That’s not acceptable for the brand that champions bringing families together at the dinner table.

McCann is promoting Aldi’s new service in digital and social, inshore, radio and print, as well as on Netmums and recipe websites. To activate it, parents sign up via Facebook, input their child’s gamer ID and choose a time for the takedown. Aldi’s squad then chooses games to interrupt.

David Hills, group director of marketing and communications at Aldi UK, commented, “At Aldi, we understand the importance of family mealtimes, but know how tough it can be to get everyone together. From suggesting family-friendly recipes, to offering Teatime Takedowns, we’re committed to helping parents on their journey to reclaiming that all important family time.”

Rob Doubal, chief creative officer at McCann UK, noted, “85% of parents admit that getting their kids to sit down to eat is a struggle. Only Aldi would take a humorous head-on-approach to sorting out the problem. Hiring some elite gamers to infiltrate the games and take the kids down. Wonderful project. Thank you and well done all.”